Rudy Castruita, retired in 2006 as superintendent to the San Diego County Office of Education, receives $281,034 or 107 percent of his salary.

San Diego’s pension problems have given the city a bad name nationally, but it’s becoming more apparent every week that similar benefit levels and funding shortfalls are plaguing governments small and large across the nation.

As part of an ongoing examination of these issues, The Watchdog has reviewed local educator pensions and found a familiar story — high benefits with no clear way to pay them.

The state teacher’s pension system faces a $40.5 billion shortfall over the next 34 years, in part because it owes payments for life to people such as Rudy Castruita, the retired superintendent of the San Diego County Office of Education.

Castruita receives the region’s top educator pension of $281,034 a year, or 107 percent of his final salary. That pay in retirement exceeds U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s 2009 base salary of $196,700. Castruita, a 1992 state superintendent of the year, did not return several calls.

The review found:

• The average retired educator in San Diego County is paid $40,633 per year, or 58 percent of final salary. That’s more than the average general city worker at $37,442 but less than the $67,428 for firefighters or the $62,098 for police officers.

• About 5 percent of educators receive pensions that pay them 100 percent or more of their final salary.

• Some 254 receive pensions of $100,000 or more, or 1.7 percent of the retirees. That compares to 3.4 percent of city retirees.

As with the San Diego city pension system, benefits for current pensioners are locked in and protected by law. Changes in the coming years could affect current employees — and taxpayers — as policymakers struggle to fill the gap.

The Watchdog looked at the pensions of 15,358 local educators who are members of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The data represents a snapshot from September 2009 to August 2010. The survey includes educators who retired as recently as this year from the county’s 42 school districts, five community college districts and other educational institutions.